1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to chip packages, and more specifically to addressing the problem of resonance due to plating stubs in high-frequency chip packages.
2. Background of the Related Art
An integrated circuit (IC), also commonly referred to as a “microchip” or “chip,” is an electronic circuit comprising miniaturized semiconductor devices formed in a semiconductor substrate. Many copies of a chip may be formed on a large semiconductor wafer and then cut into individual chips, which may be interchangeably referred to in the art as a “die chips” or “dies”. However, semiconductor materials such as silicon are typically brittle, and chips made this way are fragile. Therefore, an individual die chip is commonly packaged on a carrier, referred to as a “chip package” or simply “package.” The housing of the chip package protects the chip and the package provides an electrical and mechanical interface between the chip and a printed circuit board (PCB) such as a computer motherboard.
Electrical connections between a die chip and the package substrate may be made by wirebonding. Wirebonding is a process known in the art by which a very fine wire is connected from a bond pad on the chip to corresponding signal pathways (“traces”) on the package substrate. Bond wires are typically formed of a highly conductive material, such as platinum or other precious metal. A package in which a die chip is connected to the substrate by wirebonding may be referred to as a “wirebond package.” The traces on the substrate extend from the location of bonding with the wirebond to signal interconnects elsewhere on the substrate.
The signal interconnects on one layer of the substrate may be electrically connected to signal interconnects on another layer of the substrate using through-connections known as “vias.” Thus, for example, the signal connects on the face to which the chip is mounted may be connected to corresponding pins of a pin grid array (PGA) or to corresponding balls of a ball grid array (BGA) on the opposing face of the substrate. The PGA or BGA may then be placed in contact with a corresponding pattern of electrical contacts on the PCB to which the chip package is subsequently secured.
Signal traces are typically formed of commonly available materials, such as copper, that are relatively affordable and have sufficient electrical conductivity. Materials having improved electrical conductivity, including precious metals such as platinum and gold, are then selectively applied to the substrate at locations where the expense of such materials is warranted. For example, to facilitate wire bonding, platinum may be applied at locations along the signal traces where wire bonds are formed. Gold is often applied to signal interconnects. These materials are usually applied by electroplating. However, most electroplating processes result in open plating stubs extending from the signal interconnects. The electroplating voltage is applied at or near the periphery of the package substrate, which results in the plating stubs extending to or near the periphery of the substrate. Plating stubs may hinder signal performance of the package if left intact. Signal performance is greatly impacted by reflections from the open stubs at the high operational frequencies of modern chips. A quarter-wave length resonance is particularly detrimental in high speed data transmissions.